Regret
by JustLieForMe
Summary: She thought he'd be happy, he thought he would be too, but now are they both beginning to feel a bit of regret?


**The beginning is a bit sad I suppose, but please give this a try! I am aware that there are a few stories out there like this already, but I wanted to write one myself! Call me crazy!**

* * *

"I-I can't do this anymore, Jerome." Mara whispered. She'd noticed it for weeks now-how they looked at each other, how they'd constantly chat about god-knows-what. It was inevitable and she knew it. She knew this had to end for both hers and Jerome's sake.

"What are you talking about?" he questioned, standing up from his seat on his bed to grab her hands.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" she whispered, her eyes beginning to water,"I know you like her and I'd be a total idiot not to realize that...," she told him, gently sliding her hands out of his and backing away.

"Mara, that's ridiculous!" he yelled, moving closer to her,"What are you talking about? Why are you doing this?"

"Stop lying to yourself, Jerome. You know why" she whispered, slowly backing farther away to the door, tears now freely streaming down her cheeks,"You and me both know it's true. So go, go be with her, don't let me get in the way of you two." And with that she exited the room, leaving a guilt-stricken and pained look on Jerome face. He collapsed back on to the bed with his head in his hands, pondering over what she had said.

* * *

The next morning, Jerome and Willow walked, hand in hand, and sat down beside each other, Willow taking Mara's empty seat. The other students eyed the two strangely and the one empty seat at the table.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's going on here?" Eddie asked after a few moments of silence, gesturing to Jerome and Willow with his buttered toast. Just then, Trudy walked in with a plate of fresh muffins, greeting all the students with her usual warm smile,  
"Morning lovelies!," her eyes scanned the table and stopped at the one empty seat,"Who's missing? Oh, Mara! Patricia, dear, has she slept in?"

"No, Trudy, I suppose she just went into school early today," Patricia assured Trudy, hoping that she would leave.

"Oh alright then." Once she was gone, KT broke in,

"You and Willow? Weren't you and Mara just dating, like, yesterday?" KT asked him.

"We, uh, we broke up last night," Jerome muttered, his eyes not leaving his bowl of porridge.

"And now you two are dating?" KT pointed to Willow.

"Yes, isn't it wonderful." Willow replied in her odd, dazed tone, her bright orange hair swishing about.

"A new girlfriend a day after you break up with someone? Classy, Jerry." Eddie grimaced at the two before getting up and swinging his blazer over his shoulder.

"Where are you off to this early?" Joy's eyebrows rose as she watched him leave.

Eddie shrugged her off before exiting the room,"Oh, nowhere." Joy exchanged confused glances with the others before turning back to her breakfast.

* * *

Eddie walked forward, knowing exactly where she would be. After the whole "ghost searching" experience , he and Mara had maintained a good friendship. They'd occasionally hang out, whenever he needed to escape being the Osiran and being a part of Sibuna. She seemed to be the only normal one left in the house.

He walked forward, his gelled up hair barely moving in the fierce wind as he reached the Frobisher library. He walked in and glanced around the room, his dark brown eyes searching for the small Mara Jaffray. He spotted her in the corner of the room, seated at a small table, her head in a book.

"Hey," he said causing her to look up from her book, jumping slightly in her seat.

"Hey," she replied quietly, evidently not sounding like her normal self,"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know, I just love visiting old, creepy libraries in my free time." he said gesturing to the old bookcases and walls causing a small smile to take place on her face,"What do you think, Mara? I came to see how you are."

"Well as you can see, I'm fine." she assured him, plastering a fake smile onto her face, before turning back to her book. Eddie, not buying anything, grabbed the empty chair across from her and sat down, looking at her with concern.

"So, what happened?" he questioned her with one eyebrow raised. She sighed, setting the book down and looking at him.

"I broke up with him."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I knew he and Willow liked each other and I wanted them to be together."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted them to be happy."

"Why?" he repeated for the third time. She sighed once again,

"Because I love him."

"Why?"

"Eddie," she scolded him, slightly annoyed that he kept repeating the same word.

"So you dumped him...because you love him?" he asked leaning forward in his seat.

"Precisely."

"Makes sense." he sarcastically replied. His sarcastic look softened at the sadness written across her face. He reached forward and grabbed her arm making her look him in the eye,

"Is this really what _you _wanted, Mara?" he asked her.

"Of course not!" she snapped, slamming the book down onto the table and jumping up,"Of course not!" she repeated,"In the beginning of the term, we came here as a happy couple and Willow just had to come in here and ruin _everything_!" she sunk back down in her chair and put her head in her hands,"and I just can't bare to see them together." she whispered. He maneuvered around the table, taking the seat next to her, and putting his arm around her now weeping form.

"Shh," he soothed,"Don't worry, Mara, you can get him back! Easily, trust me."

"How do you know?" she muttered into his shoulder.

"Because I know Jerry, and him and Willow will not work out. Just trust me on that." he assured her, soothingly rubbing her arm for a small while.

"But first, the best thing for you to do is act like nothing ever happened. Act like you weren't even _phased_ by the breakup. Acting all sad and avoiding him won't do you any good. I know from personal experience" he told her confidently.

"Now come on," he said standing up and offering her his hand,"We don't want to be late for school."She supposed he was right, avoiding Jerome won't do her any good. She decided it was best to carry on with her life. She grabbed his hand for him to help her and took her book bag from his other hand and the both of them then made their way to class.

* * *

**I hope that was enjoyable! There will be Jara, trust me! And also keep in mind that Mara and Eddie will always remain FRIENDS throughout the story, nothing more. Please review if you think this is worth continuing!**


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